U.S. Pat. No. 7,016,532 to Boncyk et al., issued Mar. 21, 2006, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a method and process through which individuals can use their cell phones, PDAs and the like to take digital images of two and three dimensional objects, the image(s) or information derived from the image(s) can be sent to a distal server, and the server can use the transmitted information to identify an object within the image. Having identified the object the server can then provide additional information (telephone number, address, web links, and so forth) back to the individual taking the digital image. That person, in turn, can use the additional information in any suitable manner, such as to execute a purchase, surf the Internet, and so forth.
It is also known to use one's phone to interact in limited ways with a virtual game world. For example, a cell phone can be used as a golf club to interact with a virtual golf course. http://mobhappy.typepad.com/russell_buckleys mobhappy/2005/01/index.html. As another example, a cell phone can be used to play a virtual treasure hunt, http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/24/gps-gaming/, and to leave or find virtual graffiti, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1481993,00.html.
What has not been appreciated, however, is that a camera enabled mobile device can be used in concert with software to identify information related to real-world objects, and then use that information to control either (a) an aspect of an electronic game, or (b) a second device local to the mobile device.